Steeplechase device



L. ONILL, SR., AND L. ONEILL, JR.

STEEPLECHASE DEVICE. l

APPLICATION FILED IuIv I5, 1920.

Patented Aug. 22,-l922.

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TTUR/VEYS L. ONEILL, SR., AND L. ONEILL, la.

sTEEPLEcHAsE DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 16,1920.

Patented Aug. '22, 1922.

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L. *0NE|L L,`SR., AND L. ONEILL, JR. STEEPLECHASE DEVICE.

` lAPPLICATION FILED lum/16,1920.

1,47 ,mm Patented Aug. w22.

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'LAMSERT ONEILL; sn., Ann Lai/inner oivEILL, Jn., or siem/ioni), "'N'W vonk.

s'rEErnncHAsE DEVICE.

insta/,oie

Application led July 1'6,

T0 all who-m 'it f/izay/ concerny Be it known that we, LAMBERT ONEILL, Sr., and LAMBERT ONEILL, Jr., citizens of the United States, residing in the borough of Richmond, county of Richmond, city and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Steeplechase Devices, of which the following is a specification. v

This invention relates to' games oi skill and is herein disclosedk kas applied to `a Steeple-chase device in which images, such as horses, are raced along tracksby spectators who usually pay a fee for the privilege ofentering the competition and driving or operating the horses.

YSuch devices are usually only set up temporarily, moving from place to place, according to the season of the year, or accompanying a circus or travellingcarnival. Hitherto' many devices were put out for such purposes which were easily manipulated by theshowman o r cwne'rin favor of one or another ofthe vspectators or operators, with the result that extremely stringent laws andordinances have been passed in many States and places restricting the devices used, to those rthat were dependent entirely 'upon the skill" of the' spectator taking part in tbe operation of the device'.` Many devices hitherto used fail to conform to such laws and ordinances. Other devices were dependent upon electric power derived fromv a power station, with the result in `moving to a new place, the device failed to Work because the power current was' furnished -at the wrong voltage. Other devices involved other 'dithculties, and often required the `irequent attendanceof an expert mechanic or electrician.

According to the'preSent invention all these'and 'other troubles may be avoided. In the form of the invention herein disclosed, the images or horses run o n separate tracks, each image 'or hb'rse having its own track and forrniny part of atruck driven by a motor whic takes its current from the track. llhe currentior driving the truck mOtOrs may be provided by dynamics, there being a-separate dynamoV for each track, and a'separate*handle tov enable each spectator to drivel his o'wni dynamo. As herein disvclos'ed', the'motor vis mounted on' the truck, thus enabling devices similar to the toy electric railroads used by boys, to bel utilized in Specification of Letters Patent.

yPatented ugQ, 1920. serial no. 396,765.

building models of this` invention. 4The trucks may be normally drawn backward as by weights, with the resultthat when any truck fails to receive current, its 'horse travels backward. To addto the interest of the device of the present disclosure, each track may include a rail section, provided with a' hump, thus giving 'the horse the Vappearance of hurdling". For similar reasons, each track may be provided with a dead section in passing which the horse or truek receives no current. Thus to carry vhis lirse across the dead section eachspectato'rmust operate his dynamo at above a certain ininl imum speed.

To add' to the interest, the speed at which each dynamo may be driven may be limited, as by providing a loose belt between it and the pulley by which the spectator `drives it. To clearly display to the entire `group `of spectators, the number or the color oi the winning horse, there may be provided suitable indicator, such as -'an annunciator signal drop'. The drops of the indicator may be operated by the current supplied by the dynamos through the tra'f'lks.` It will be seen thateachspectator has absolute control or his own horse'and that a certain amount of skill is requiredft en# able the spectator to operate his dynamo at its most eilicient speed. Moi-seven, it will be observed that b`y "d `e`p'endin'g entirely upon the dynamos orcurrent, the present device is labsolutely independent of electric power furnished from the outside, not requiring even a battery to operate the indicator.

` By having single switch controlling all the circuits between the dynamos and their tracks, the spectators control of his horse is absolutely indep'endentoi thewishes or designsoiz the showman who controls thedevice. Other features and advantages will hereinafter appear; V

In the accompanying drawings, Figure; 1 is a front view partly in section and largely diagrammatic; showing one form of the present invention. i

Figure 2 is a plan view oi the saine, taken l icio .65 whiehmaybe replaceable platescr sections directs a number of spectators usually 12, to take hold of their' respective handles 1, which are fast upon pulleys 2 so as to turn dy'namos v3 to supply current to the tracks comprising rails 4 and 5 uponwhich the respective horses 6 run. When all the spectators have thoroughly started turning their respective handles, the showman throws in a single knife switch 3 which .closes all the circuits from all the dynamos"3 to all the .track rails 4 and 5, each railbeing connected respectivelyto the` appropriate terminal of the dynamo by its wire 9 or 10. It has been found that a so-called pony dynamo furnishing suiiicient current for a four volt motor in each `truck 11, makes a device which works very satisfactorily.

The motors may be such as are furnished withv the toy electric railways which boys are I accustomed to operate by dry batteries, thus enabling individual outlitsto-be economia cally constructed, where itis not desired to go to the expense of amore rigid and perhaps :more efficient construction.

Each horse 6 may carry a rider 12 fixed thereon; the horse and the rider being carried by a post 13 on their own truck.A Normally, each truck 11.is drawn backto the starting point by a device such as` a weight 14. 1In order to enable theA tracks y4-and 5 to be much longer than the distance from them to the ground, theweight 14 instead of being connected directly to its truck, maybe connected thereto by a cord '15, wound upon a smallv pulley 16, fast to a-large pulley 17, the latter pulley serving),` to wind up a cord 18 Inadefast to the truck 13. l

When the spectators are all turning the handles'in the manner' described, to furnish current to drive their `respective horses G, the strongest armed spectator might win unless there were provided some connection to limit the speed at which the dynanios can be driven. Forvlirniting` the speed, oneY of the two .belts 19 and 20 which'. drive cach dynamo 3,..may be adapted to slip upon its pulley 21, or 22 or 23 respectively. This furnishes a simpler method of controlling;` the speed than could be readily obtained Vin other ways. v f .It is found that the ratio of the pulleys 2, 22,A and 23 should be such that the dynamo isfturned by the spectator aboutfl200 to 1500 revolutions per minute. whenA workinga etliciently. v For .this purpose, the pulley 21 Vwhich jis fast to thevpulley 22 is very-much Smaller thanfthe latter,lwhieh in turn is very much larger than the pulley 23. lTo add interest to the racing ofthe horses-there may be provided a fence 24 betweeny the spectators and the horses and behind the fence there maybea bush or row of bushes 25at vari-- ous pointsjacross which tbc horses seem to hurdle, `becausethey'ride up voil-humps 26 in the tracks 4 and 5. lThe sections may be joined in the manner common in the toy railroads referred to. above, in which lthe track 4rails are split or formed Vof double .sheetmetal which clasp upon each other and form good electrical contacts.

To add further interest to the lracing of the horses, each track may comprise an in sulated section 2T, at which section the motor 28 of each truck 11 receives no current,

- track between the ends of the bar 29- by an outside'conductor 30.- The .dead section 27 is advantageously placed near the winning` ost 31 which may take the form of a push button 32 adapted to be made effective by the striking'of forwardly projecting lug 33 on its respective truck l11, thus lclosing-a cir-l cuit Vto' an indicator 34. l

. The circuits to the indicator preferably each comprise a wire llelectrically con-V nected to one rail, and-a wire 37 fc'onnec'ted'to one terminal 38 of its push button'32,-the other terminal-39 of the push button being electrically connected to the other rail 'ofits track; thusv the. impact of any truck .11 against its push button operates itsfsignal in. the indicator by the. current flowing frornitsdynamo. When the indicator thus shows that any horsev12 has won, the :showmaneasily opens theI switch 8 land all the-'horses 'are drawn back to the starting point by their weight 14. fi The handles 1 are mounted above .acounter 40 and brackets l41 'onthe-` counter furnish` journalsfor their, pulleys 2. The counter 40 may form-a front extension of-'alframe 42 having' sides yand-a suitably.l ornamented top 43. The' Aends of the counter-40 maybe supported by vertical4 ends 44,',provided at their bottom with rests45 adapted to be set upon the ground or. upon the floor of an v.eX- hibitionhall. .ff Various details of 4certain embodiments er features of the present yinvention have. been described in considerable detail to enable. thosefski-lled ingthe artto .appreciate some-of `its. advantages; ,butl what is claimed is: q 1.- In a game ofskilll a pluralityU oftracks, a separate vdynamo for each track, means for driving leach dynamo, a motor driven -device on eachtrack normally tending toreturntothe starting point butadapted to y. be driven bythe dynamo, and means for limiting the speed of a given dynamo, ,upon increasing the speed ,of its driving. means whereby the `motor driven device,` operating uponthe track lto vwhich-is"conneetedthe dynamo', l,banning its, speed lmitedf` con-y trolled in its operation independently of the speed at which the yother dynarr'ios. are operated. l 4 y y 2. In a game of skill a plurality of tracks, a separate dynamo for each track,'a handle for manually driving each dynamo, a motor driven device on each track normally tending to return to thestarting point but adapted to be'driven'bythe` dynamo, a slip belt between each handle anditsdynamo, rand a dead section for each track over whichthe device may be carried when driven at high speed.

3. In a game of skill a plurality of tracks, a separate dynamo for each track, means for driving each dynamo, a motor driven device on each track normally tending to return to the starting point but adapted to be driven by the dynamo and a dead section for each track over which the device may be carried when driven at high speed.

4i. In a game of skill, a plurality of tracks, a separate dynamo for each track, a slip driving connection connected to each dynamo, said slip driving connection being adapted to be driven to operate the dynamo to which it is connected and to slip when driven at a speed exceeding a predetermined value, and a motor driven device on each track normally tending to return to the starting point but adapted to be driven by the dynamo.

5. In a game of skill, a plurality of tracks, a separate dynamo for each track, a slipfdriving connection connected to each dynamo, said slip driving connection being adapted to be driven to operate the dynamo to which it is connected and to slip when driven at a speed exceeding a predetermined value, a motor driven device on each track normally tending to return to the starting point but adapted to be driven by the dynamo, and a dead section for each track over which the device may be carried when driven at a high speed.

6. In a game of skill, a plurality of tracks, a separate dynamo for each track, means for driving each dynamo, a motor driven device on each track normally tending to return to the starting point but adapted to be driven by the dynamo, means for limiting the speed of a given dynamo upon increasing the speed of its driving means whereby the motor driven device, operating upon the track to which is connected the dynamo having its speed limited, is controlled in its operation independently of the speed at which the other dynamos are operated, and a dead section for each track over which the device may be carried when driven at a high speed.

7. In a game of skill, a plurality of tracks, a separate dynamo for each track, means for driving each dynamo, a motor driven device on each track normally tending to return to the starting pointbut adapted vto be ydriven lto which is connected 'the dynamo havingits speed limited, is controlled in its operation "independently of the-'speed at which the y other dynamos are operated,ia` deadlsectio'nI for each track over whch the device may` be carried when driven at a high speed, and hurdle sections over which said motor driven devices are adapted to pass.

8. In a game of skill a plurality of tracks, a separate dynamo for each track, a handle for manually driving each dynamo, a motor driven device on each track normally tending to return to the starting point but adapted to be driven by the dynamo, and a slip belt between each handle and its dynamo and a dead section for each track over which the device may be carried when driven at high speed and a removable section in each track adapted to form a hurdle and automatically electrically connecting itself to the body of the track.

9. In a game of skill a plurality of tracks, a separate dynamo for each track, a handle for manually driving each dynamo, multiplying pulleys between each dynamo and its handle, a slip belt for each set of pulleys, a motor driven device on each track taking its current from the track, and electric connections from each dynamo to its track.

10. In a game of skill a pluralit of tracks, a separate dynamo for each trac a handle for manually driving each dynamo, multiplying pulleys between each dynamo and its handle, a slip belt for each set of pulleys, a

motor driven device on each track taking its current from the track, and electric connections from each dynamo to its track, a dead section in each track intermediate its ends, and an indicator for indicating the arrival of the devices at their track ends.

1l. In a game of skill a plurality of tracks, a separate dynamo for each track, a handle for manually driving each dynamo, multiplying pulleys between each dynamo and its handle, a slip belt for each set of pulleys, a motor driven device on each track taking its current from the track, and electric connections from each dynamo to its track, la dead section in each track intermediate its ends, and an indicator operated by the dynamo currents for indicating the arrival of the devices at their track ends,

12. In a game of skill a plurality of tracks, a separate dynamo for each track, a handle for manually driving each dynamo, multiplying pulleys between each dynamo and its handle, al slip belt for each set of pulleys, a motor driven device on each track taking its current from the track, and electric connections from each dynamo to its ltrack, and a Weight for each 4device connect- Ved to return it When its dynamo fails to ltric connections from each dynarno toits track, a dead section in each track intermediate its ends, and an indicator for indicating the arrival of the devices at their track ends, a hurdle section in each track,

and a single switch controlling `the elec-` tric connections ofl all the dynamos to ytheir tracks.y v v In testimony whereof, We have affixed our signatures to this specification'.

' LAMBERT ONEILL, SR. LAMBERT ONEILL, JR. 

